12 December 2008

Gulf Cup Football Tournament 2008

The Sheffield Omani Society organized the first football tournament on 30th November 2008 for Arabian Gulf students studying in the United Kingdom. Six teams representing 5 Gulf countries (Oman, UAE, Saudi Arabia (A) and (B), Bahrain and Qatar) took part in the event.

The event was hosted by the Sheffield Omani Society and sponsored by the Omani Cultural Attaché in the United Kingdom. More than 100 students gathered at the Goodwin Sports Centre pitches to support their teams, enjoy their time and get to know each other.

Starting in the morning, teams were arranged into two groups - three teams in each - and the first round started. Two teams from each group proceeded to the semi finals. The teams were Oman, UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

After the first round, all students headed to the sports hall where tea and snacks were served for the players and the supporters. Meanwhile, national sport songs of each country were played and some of the audience performed cultural dances.

In the semi finals, Oman played against UAE and the former won 5-1 and Qatar played against Saudi Arabia, where the former won 2-1.

The final match was between the Omani and the Qatari teams. With a score of 1-1 at full-time, the game went into extra time, when Oman scored 3 more goals. The cup was then presented to the winners by Khalfan Al Hajji, a PhD Omani Student, and Sajeev Jeganathan, the Sheffield Students’ Union International Student’s Officer.

Ali Al Balushi, the Chairperson of the Omani society, said “This event is very special and we are very proud to be the first to adopt the idea. It is expected that this event will be annual and each year a different team will organize it. This is itself a success.”